Christ continues his sermon on the mount, exhorting not to be careful for worldly things, 1-32, but to seek God's kingdom, 33, 34.
1 "Take heed that you do not practice your righteousness before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 "Therefore, when you do your acts of charity, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may have glory from men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do acts of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand does, 4 So that your alms may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
5 "And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets so that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7 "But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their excessive speaking. 8 Therefore, do not be like them, for your Father knows what things you need before you ask him. 9 "Therefore, pray after this manner:
'Our Father who is in heaven,/
may your name be hallowed.
10 May your kingdom come./
May your will be done/
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,/
as we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,/
but deliver us from evil./
For yours is the kingdom, the power,/
and the glory forever. Amen.'
14 "For, if you forgive men for their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men for their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 "Moreover, when you fast, do not be of a sad countenance like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so that they may appear to men to fast. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 So that you may not appear to men to fast, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.
22 "The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. Therefore, if the light that is in you is darkness, how great that darkness is!
24 "No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
25 "Therefore, I say to you, do not be anxious for your life—what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body—what you shall put on. Is the life not more than food and the body than clothing? 26 Behold the birds of the air: they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they are? 27 Which of you by anxious care can add one cubit to his stature? 28 And why are you anxious for clothing? Consider the lilies of the field and how they grow: they do not toil, neither do they spin, 29 And yet I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Therefore, if God likewise clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is cast into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or, 'What shall we drink?' or, 'With what shall we be clothed?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek, and your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
34 "Therefore, do not be anxious for the next day, for the next day will be solicitous for the things of itself. Sufficient for each day is its own evil."
Matthew Henry Commentary - Matthew, Chapter 6[➚]
[v.6] - "inner room" - That is, a secret room (Thayer's Greek Lexicon).
[v.9-13] - Gospel Link: Luke 11:1-4.
[v.9] - "Therefore, pray" - Reference, Jeremiah 33:3.
[v.14-15] - Gospel Link: Mark 11:25-26.
[v.19-21] - Gospel Link: Luke 12:33-34.
[v.22-23] - Gospel Link: Luke 11:34-36.
[v.24] - Gospel Link: Luke 14:13.
[v.25-30] - Gospel Link: Luke 12:22-28.
[v.26a] - "He who is the feeder of sparrows, will also furnish you with what you need." —Charles Spurgeon
[v.26b] - Reference, Job 38:41.
[v.31-34] - Gospel Link: Luke 12:29-32.